LitQueuelitqueue

After

Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble

H.P. Mallory2010

5 of 6 directions open — nothing to recover from

More like it

1 more ↓

  • Walk on the Wild Side

    Christine Warren2008

    A woman discovers she is a were-lion and travels to Las Vegas to meet her father. She encounters his second-in-command and enters his pride.

    Same playful register, still paranormal romance

    pace0·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

playful → dreamlike

3 more ↓

  • Gormenghast

    Mervyn Peake1950

    A young heir and a social climber navigate the rigid rituals of a decaying, labyrinthine castle. The prose is dense and descriptive.

    playful → dark

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+3

  • The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner

    James Hogg1824

    A religious fanatic becomes convinced he is predestined for salvation and commits crimes at the behest of a mysterious stranger.

    playful → cold

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+3

  • Ghost Stories

    Henry James2001

    A collection of Victorian tales where the existence of ghosts is often left to the reader's interpretation.

    playful → meditative

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+2

Faster

3 more ↓

  • Ill Wind

    Rachel Caine2003

    A weather warden on the run from the law uses her ability to control storms to protect people from rogue elemental forces.

    playful → propulsive, still paranormal romance

    pace+1·prose0·bleak+1

  • Tempt the Stars

    Karen Chance2013

    A supernatural seer manages a possessive vampire lover and rogue acolytes while attempting to rescue a friend from a magical fate.

    playful → propulsive, still paranormal romance

    pace+1·prose0·bleak+1

  • Wicked All Night

    Jeaniene Frost2021

    A vampire and a siren enter a marriage of convenience to protect her from a supernatural threat. They hunt a dark god across the globe.

    playful → propulsive, still paranormal romance

    pace+1·prose0·bleak+1

Slower

3 more ↓

  • Ulysses

    James Joyce1914

    Three characters wander through Dublin on a single day in 1904. Each chapter uses a different literary style to mimic thoughts and sensations.

    Same playful register

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1

  • Absalom, Absalom!

    William Faulkner1936

    The rise and fall of Thomas Sutpen is recounted through multiple, conflicting memories. The prose uses extremely long, complex sentences.

    playful → elegiac

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak+3

  • Either/Or

    Søren Kierkegaard1992

    A collection of papers presents two life philosophies: the aesthetic pursuit of pleasure and the ethical commitment to duty.

    playful → meditative

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • Flowers in the Attic

    V.C. Andrews1979

    Four children are hidden in an attic for years by their mother and grandmother to secure an inheritance. They face gradual poisoning and abuse.

    playful → elegiac

    pace0·prose0·bleak+3

  • Hamlet

    William Shakespeare

    A prince of Denmark is told by a ghost that his uncle killed his father. He feigns madness while deciding whether to take revenge.

    playful → meditative

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+3

  • The Terror

    Dan Simmons2007

    Two British ships searching for the Northwest Passage in 1845 become trapped in ice and are hunted by a creature.

    playful → bleak

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak+3